€1.8m · Pre-Seed · Cybersecurity, Defence · Lviv, Ukraine
DoD Solution has closed a €1.8m pre-seed round to move its AURA AI onboard-autonomy platform towards larger-scale production and more integrations with unmanned-system manufacturers. The round brings together Angel One Fund, Better Angle, Defence Builder Fund, Network VC, Newfund, UAID Fund, WildField Ventures and 4C-Next Holding AG, while Canadian drone company Draganfly joined as a strategic investor.
The Lviv-based, Estonian-Ukrainian company builds both the AURA SBC onboard computer and the AURA OS software stack. According to the company and EU-Startups, that combination handles navigation, perception, target recognition and tracking, and terminal guidance when GPS or communications are degraded. The company says AURA has already been used in combat in Ukraine, while the newly raised capital will support the next computer generation, further software development and integrations in Ukraine and international markets.
From working technology to repeatable integrations
DoD Solution is selling an autonomy layer rather than a complete drone. That distinction shapes the commercial opportunity: one hardware-and-software stack can potentially sit inside FPV, fixed-wing and interceptor platforms, letting the company reach several vehicle makers without manufacturing every airframe itself. It also shifts much of the execution burden to integration. Each platform brings different sensors, power limits, flight dynamics and mission requirements, so growth depends on turning field-tested capabilities into a product that manufacturers can adopt repeatedly.
Recent partnerships show how the company is assembling that integration stack. An August agreement with Axelera AI focuses on higher-performance onboard inference for high-speed interceptors, including target recognition, tracking, sensor fusion and guidance. A separate September cooperation with Defsecintel combines AURA with a counter-drone detection and command system for planned testing and demonstrations in Estonia, Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe. Both are development and integration relationships, not evidence of completed commercial deployments.
The financing therefore funds two linked transitions: industrialising the AURA computer and making the software easier to integrate across manufacturers. EU-Startups reports that the next-generation SBC is being developed with a more robust component supply chain and a goal of meeting NDAA compliance requirements, which could matter for North American defence procurement. The company still has to prove it can manufacture reliably, pass platform-specific validation and convert partnerships into repeatable orders. If it can, its position inside other companies’ vehicles could make each successful integration a route into a broader fleet rather than a one-off system sale.
Sources checked:
EU-Startups announcement · DoD Solution/Axelera AI · DoD Solution/Defsecintel · Tech.eu Funding Explorer
